DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The Fourth Anniversary of the Covid Pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Shortly after noon Eastern on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid — or “the coronavirus,” then the more popular term — to be a global pandemic. The worst pandemic in a century had begun. Today, on the unofficial fourth anniversary, I’ll update you on where things stand. The true tollCovid’s confirmed death toll — more than seven million people worldwide — is horrific on its own, and the true toll is much worse. The Economist magazine keeps a running estimate of excess deaths, defined as the number of deaths above what was expected from pre-Covid trends.

Persons: Covid, ”, Stocks, Donald Trump, Tom Hanks Organizations: World Health Organization, Economist

☆ Europe is having its worst earnings season since the onset of Covid — with little hope of a quick turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As of Feb. 29 with 313 companies having reported, 50.2% posted a beat, according to a CNBC analysis of FactSet data. This was the smallest percentage of beats — thus the worst earnings season — since the first quarter of 2020 when the pandemic first hit European firms. Share buyback bonanzaSharon Bell, a senior European strategist at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC that she had noticed a new trend for European corporates during this earnings season. "What you have seen is a lot of companies announcing buybacks," she told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Tuesday. "It is absolutely huge, you've never really seen this before in 20, 30 years, European companies pay dividends, they don't do buybacks," she said.

Persons: —, Edward Stanford, Philippe Ferreira, Kepler Cheuvreux, Sharon Bell, Goldman Sachs, CNBC's, you've, Bell, Ferreira Organizations: CNBC, HSBC, L'Oreal, European Central Bank, Shell, Deutsche Bank, Novo Nordisk, UBS Locations: Triomphe, France, Europe, China, Ukraine, European

☆ CDC advisers recommend spring Covid boosters for older adults
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Erika Edwards | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The panel's vote to recommend spring boosters for older adults is not final until CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen signs off on it. The additional dose should be given at least four months after a previous dose for healthy older adults, or at least three months after a Covid infection. Covid hospitalizations peaked at the beginning of January, with 35,000 hospitalizations a week. By Feb. 7, Covid hospitalizations had fallen to around 20,000 a week. The vast majority have been among older adults, 65 and older.

Persons: Covid —, there's, Megan Wallace, Mandy Cohen, Marvia Jones, Covid, Covid hospitalizations Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Kansas City Health Department Locations: agency's, Kansas, Missouri, United States

☆ I'm a Gen Zer. We aren't lazy, but 9-to-5s can be a struggle after college during Covid — here's how I've learned to cope.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Charissa Cheong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

My first few weeks of full-time work were tiring. Here is what I've learned about how to cope better and balance life and work while working a 9-to-5. I said to my manager, "I'm coming in early every day, so I'm technically working more hours than in my contract. AdvertisementI personally prefer to go to work early and come home early so I have more time in the evening. Martin said she was arriving at work early, so she asked her manager if she could leave early too.

Persons: —, Ciara Martin, I've, Martin, it's, I'm Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Surrey, England

☆ Do we simply not care about older adults in the US?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Judith Graham | Kff Health News | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

KFF Health News —The Covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults. Around 900,000 older adults have died of Covid-19 to date, accounting for 3 of every 4 Americans who have perished in the pandemic. Many seniors at high risk aren’t getting antiviral therapies for Covid, and most older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting updated vaccines. The pandemic made things worsePrejudice against older adults is nothing new, but “it feels more intense, more hostile” now than previously, said Karl Pillemer, 69, a professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University. But as a society, we don’t value older adults or the people who care for them,” said Robert Kramer, 74, co-founder and strategic adviser at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.

Persons: —, ”, Alice Bonner, I’m, Karl Pillemer, “, ’, ’ ”, Andrew Achenbaum, Achenbaum, Covid, Edwin Walker, Robert Kramer, Kramer, John Rowe, Anne Montgomery, Allen Power, ” Power, it’s “, ” Pillemer Organizations: Health, America, CDC, Institute for Healthcare, gerontology, Cornell University, Texas Medical Center, Aging, Department of Health, Human Services, National Investment Center, Seniors Housing & Care, ”, Columbia University’s Mailman, of Public Health, National Committee, Preserve Social Security, Schlegel, University of Waterloo Research Institute, National Academy of Medicine’s, Healthy, University of Southern, Cornell, Kaiser Health, KFF Locations: Houston, Canada, University of Southern California

☆ U.S. to offer another round of free at-home Covid tests starting Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

COVID-19 home test kits are pictured in a store window during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 19, 2022. The Biden administration on Monday said it is offering another round of free at-home Covid tests to U.S. households ahead of the holiday season, when more people gather indoors and the virus typically spreads at higher levels. Starting Monday, Americans can use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests per household. Those who have not ordered any tests this fall can now place two orders for a total of eight tests, according to the website. The administration in September allowed people to request an initial round of four free tests through the site, resuming a federal program that temporarily shut down during a political fight over Covid funding.

Persons: Biden Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S

☆ Gen Z is lonely. Going back to the office may be the cure for some.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Aaron Mok | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The solitude of remote work seemed to particularly hit Gen Z workers — who began their careers as workplaces went from in-person to virtual — hard. With companies asking — and in some cases mandating — their employees return to the office, Gen Z workers who are going in regularly have said they have a renewed sense of confidence in their jobs. Since Fitchett's employer started mandating employees go to the office, Fitchett said he finally feels a sense of ease at his job. Don't expect a full-scale return to the office quite yetThere's more that goes into a worker's preferences than loneliness, and Gen Z workers are mixed about returning to the office full time. For her — and many other Gen Z workers — the solution may come in some form of flexibility.

Persons: Ben Fitchett didn't, Fitchett, Ben Fitchett, Ben Fitchett Young, Aaron Terrazas, —, Cigna, Hubert Palan, Z, Covid —, Palan, Vivek Murthy, it's, Mansoor Soomro, Soomro, Gen, Juanita Garcia, Garcia, who've, Zers, Anita Pan —, Anita Pan, Pan, Ricky Yean, Zers —, Yean, Bianca Wu, Bianca Wu Bianca Wu, Wu, wouldn't Organizations: Company, Teesside University, Starbucks, Flow, Dell Locations: New Zealand, Los Angeles, New York, Washington , DC, Bay

☆ Boeing CEO says travel demand recovery is 'more resilient' than he imagined
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A Boeing 777x is displayed during the International Paris Air Show at the ParisLe Bourget Airport, on June 20, 2023. Calhoun said order books and demand for proposals to meet that demand are "as robust as [he's] ever seen in his career." Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun is optimistic about the recovery of travel demand, which he said is stronger than he expected. In May, the World Travel & Tourism Council had forecast that the global travel and tourism sector will not reach full recovery this year. And even if that was the case, it would not be the "worst thing," given travel demand.

Persons: Calhoun, CNBC's, Dave Calhoun, I'm Organizations: Boeing, International Paris Air, Airbus, Tourism Council Locations: ParisLe, China

☆ U.S. will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will resume offering free at-home Covid tests to American households Monday as the virus gains a stronger foothold nationwide. Americans will soon be able to use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests, the administration said in a release. But the Biden administration noted that the at-home tests set to be delivered will detect currently circulating Covid variants. The end of that declaration also changed how public and private insurers cover at-home tests, potentially leaving some people unable to get those tests for free through their plans. But certain local health clinics and community sites still offer at-home tests to the public at no cost.

Persons: Biden, hospitalizations, Xavier Becerra Organizations: Human Services Locations: Manhattan, New York City

☆ Covid apathy and fatigue are real. Here’s how to cope
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“One of the responses to stress is to freeze — to stop living in your tracks. “I think there is also a societal PTSD connected to Covid — we were not designed to watch humans suffer,” she said. There is no shame in getting help.”How to fight your Covid apathyStuck in idle? There are also tools you can use to stop stress in its tracks. “The booster has been updated to provide immunity to many of the newer Covid strains that are circulating,” he said.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Cynthia Ackrill, ‘, ’, Ackrill, “, we’re, you’ll, you’ve, Tai Chi, Jane Webber, Webber, can’t, ” Webber, that’s, Covid, William Schaffner, Schaffner, Let’s Organizations: CNN, American Institute of, Kean University Locations: New Jersey

☆ Uber CEO says his time moonlighting as a driver showed him the company didn't pay enough attention to its drivers. It sparked an all-hands called 'Why we suck.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says driving for the company showed him a "lack of quality" with the product. "We didn't take pride in the driver product because very few of us drove," he said Wednesday. Khosrowshahi made an all-hands presentation titled "Why we suck" based on what he found as a driver. Dara Khosrowshahi had an Undercover Boss-type stint driving for Uber and delivering for Uber Eats for a period last year. "But we didn't take pride in the driver product because very few of us drove."

Persons: Dara Khosrowshahi, Khosrowshahi, Uber, frickin, COVID —, he'd, Steven Levy Organizations: Service, Uber Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York City

☆ First Look: ‘The Color Purple’ Finds New Hues in Film Adaptation of Stage Musical
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Melena Ryzik | More About Melena Ryzik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“She’s always had such a regal reverence and a curiosity about dance from all over the world,” he said. Her hip-hop and R&B pedigree is evident in neck swivels and shoulder shimmies that connect TikTok dances to their 20th-century lineage. Some of the songs were sped up to match her moves, Sanders said. He also wrote songs for the movie, including a beat-driven work anthem for Harpo, Mister’s son (Corey Hawkins). During Bazawule’s presentation — via video during the height of covid — “I literally texted Oprah,” Sanders recalled.

Persons: Bazawule’s, Fatima Robinson, Michael Jackson, Mary J, Blige, ” Bazawule, Aaliyah, “ She’s, ”, Sanders, Bazawule, “ It’s, Ricky Dillard, Keb, ’, Christian McBride, Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, Stephen Bray, Harpo, Mister’s, Corey Hawkins, “, ” Sanders, ‘ Locations: Accra

☆ Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian shares his daily routine and why true work-life balance doesn't exist: 'I don't think anyone can really accomplish that'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Amanda Breen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian shared his typical work and family routine. Before marriage, he said he was terrible at finding any semblance of balance between work and life. If you're chasing balance, you're implying, like Thanos, [that] you'd be able to create something perfectly balanced. "There are times in your life where you will need to focus on the career, the work," Ohanian says. That's why he's a big advocate for paid family leave; Ohanian wants all American families to have access to it.

Persons: Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams —, he's, Williams, he'd, It's, Thanos, You'll, Ohanian, you'll, —, He's, Ohanian's, Covid, Serena, Amanda Breen Organizations: Service, Technology, Seven, Olympia, YouTube, Olympia ., Barnard College, Columbia University, School of, Arts Locations: Wall, Silicon, South Florida

☆ A Positive Covid Milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( David Leonhardt | More About David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Most immunocompromised people are at little additional risk from Covid — even people with serious conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or a history of many cancers. The C.D.C.’s main Covid webpage estimates that about 80 people per day have been dying from the virus in recent weeks, which is equal to about 1 percent of overall daily deaths. data suggests that almost one-third of official recent Covid deaths have fallen into this category. “I don’t know anybody who thinks we’re going to eradicate Covid,” Jha said. Given the politics of vaccination, the recent victims are also disproportionately Republican and white.

Persons: —, we’re, ” Jha, Shira Doron, ” Organizations: Tufts Medicine Locations: Covid, Massachusetts

☆ A veteran real estate investor who has been buying property for more than 30 years explains why she isn't afraid of interest rate hikes or recessions – and how to succeed in any environment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

She's learned not to let factors outside of her control, like interest rates, affect whether or not she buys property. Real estate investor Brenda Stroud isn't one to sit on the sidelines during a high-interest rate environment. "Okay, the interest rate is high now; get the property, hold onto it, and refinance when the rate drops," she advised. Brenda Stroud, real estate investorStroud prefers a five-year ARM, she said: "At the end of five years, it automatically resets. In late 2022, he financed a property with a 7.25% interest rate, he noted: "I've closed on some high-rate deals.

Persons: Brenda Stroud, She's, Brenda Stroud isn't, Stroud, It's, I'm, that's, Dana Bull, Bull, Matt —, — Organizations: ARM, refinance Locations: Stroud, Real, Maryland, Georgia, Tuskegee , Alabama, Massachusetts, New England

☆ Cambodia Strongman Hun Sen Wields Facebook to Undermine Democracy - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Samuel Woolley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Instead, the global problems with our online information ecosystem compound. Mr. Sen and his cronies own or control all but the thinnest sliver of the country’s media outlets. And curtailing speech on social media has been critical to the consolidation of their power. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s Office of Hate, run by his sons, used social media to defame journalists and threaten opposition. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the autocrat recently re-elected as president of Turkey, benefited greatly from organized troll armies operating on Twitter.

Persons: Hun Sen, Sen, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: Big Tech, Facebook, Jair, Hate, Twitter Locations: Cambodia, Meta, China, Brazil, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar

☆ FDA advisors raise doubts about seasonal updates to Covid vaccines as with flu shots
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's independent panel of advisors raised doubts about the need to "periodically" update Covid vaccines, noting that it's unclear if the virus is seasonal like the flu. But the original voting question included language about whether the panel recommends a "periodic update" to Covid shots. But several advisors cautioned against calling Covid seasonal like the flu. "It's not clear to me that this is a seasonal virus yet," said Henry Bernstein, a pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center. In response to the advisors, FDA's Marks emphasized that Covid shots will likely require another update "at some point."

Persons: Peter Marks, Arthur Reingold, Henry Bernstein, Mark Sawyer, Sawyer, FDA's Marks Organizations: Union Station, The U.S . Food, University of California, Children's Medical Locations: Los Angeles , California, The U.S, Berkeley, U.S, San Diego

☆ FDA advisors recommend that new Covid vaccines target an omicron XBB variant this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The committee unanimously voted that the new jabs should be monovalent — meaning they are designed to protect against one variant of Covid — and target a member of the XBB family. Those strains of Covid are descendants of the omicron variant, which caused cases to surge to record levels early last year. Advisors also generally agreed that the new shots should specifically target a variant called XBB.1.5. There is also uncertainty about which age groups the FDA and CDC will advise to receive the updated shots this fall. But it's unclear how many Americans will roll up their sleeves to take the updated shots later this year.

Persons: Melinda Wharton, Novavax, John Jacobs, Peter Marks, David Kaslow Organizations: . Food, Centers for Disease Control, Advisors, Pfizer, Moderna, National Center, FDA, CDC, Novavax, omicron Locations: U.S, Novavax

☆ A Vancouver bakery owner said she caught a thief breaking in on video — he swept the floor, took some selfies, and left with 6 cupcakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A man broke into Vancouver's Sweet Something bakery in the early hours of Friday, and the security footage made for a viral video. The bakery owner told Insider her "heart sank" until she saw the "hilarious" footage of the thief attempting to sweep up broken glass with a mop. Emma Irvine, owner of Sweet Something in Vancouver, shared a story time video to TikTok that showed a man breaking into her bakery in the early hours of Friday morning. It was hilarious – I was in stitches watching (the footage)," Irvine said. Sugar cookies iced to look like orange sunglasses will top the six replacement cupcakes Irvine says he stole.

☆ US airlines made nearly $7 billion in bag fees last year despite mishandling nearly 3 million of them — see how carriers compare
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

US airlines earned a collective $6.8 billion in baggage revenue in 2022. American Airlines generated the most revenue but had the worst mishandled bag rate of any carrier. The strategy has paid off, with airlines collectively earning about $6.8 billion in baggage revenue last year according to DOT stats. This year's $1 billion increase from 2019 is despite carrying 72 million fewer passengers. However, carriers faltered when it came to handling the luggage, resulting in nearly 3 million bags lost, destroyed, or delayed across all airlines in 2022.

☆ Airlines are offering more U.S.-Europe service than ever — but don't expect bargains
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Airlines scheduled a near-record 51,000 flights from June through August from the U.S. to Europe, according to airline data firm Cirium. The number of scheduled seats is the highest since 2018. Despite that increase in capacity across the Atlantic, fares are up sharply as airlines test travelers' appetites for trips abroad. JetBlue is flying to London's two largest airports from New York and Boston, and plans to launch service to Paris from New York in June. Delta plans to offer a record number of seats from the U.S. to Europe, up 20% from last summer.

☆ Meet a childcare worker who makes $15 an hour and lives with 4 roommates to be able to afford doing the job she loves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Marie is a childcare worker in Georgia, where she makes $15 an hour to teach 3-year-olds. She said that many childcare workers don't make enough to live on, leading to staffing shortages. In 2021, childcare workers made an average of $533 a week. Many childcare workers found themselves facing hard conditions and low pay — and, rather than accept those, left the profession entirely. That's led to labor shortages, which in turn has led to less-available childcare and fewer parents able to work.

☆ Question: How are some bars boosting profits? Answer: Trivia nights
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

In February, she begged friends to come to Talea's first trivia night, fearing only a few players would show up. NYC Trivia League, which hosts trivia at over 100 venues across New York City, recently surpassed its weekly event count from early 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Brooklyn Brewery has been hosting trivia nights with the NYC Trivia League since 2019. Bumpy road to recoveryWith so many new venues hosting trivia nights, Kostyo cautioned bars may "cannibalize each other" as more businesses try to plant their flag in the trivia space. On a trivia night, we are easily doubling our sales from the previous night.

☆ Long Covid disabled them. Then they met a ‘broken’ Social Security disability process
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Morgan Stephens | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

And two Congressional bills addressing the long Covid crisis — The “Covid-19 Long Haulers Act,” which would’ve collected data on long Covid patients with the goal of creating better care and treatment, and “The Care For Long Covid Act” would’ve improved research, centralized data and resources for people with Long Covid — died without making it out of committee. Disabled by long Covid since March 2020, she lives with her spouse and their 7-year-old son in Portland, Ore. “We didn’t design our life to be a single-income household.”Other long Covid patients have rearranged their finances, too. His company’s private long-term disability insurance pays a smaller percentage of the monthly benefit payout when federal disability pays a portion. “They’re not only dealing with long Covid complications, but they’re dealing with financial complications,” she said of her clients.

☆ Three Years Into Covid, We Still Don’t Know How to Talk About It
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Mooallem | Photographs Ashley Gilbertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +53 min

It will play out and reverberate for years or decades, Hagen told me. “The pathological normal,” Hagen calls it: a patchwork of homespun, bespoke realities, each one invested in a different story about what exactly happened when Covid ruptured the story of our lives. garb.”More than once, life seemed to be attaining “an uncanny resemblance to normal life,” as one man put it. But because we don’t totally understand where that experience has delivered us, we don’t know the right gloss to give it. “The days are strange,” one public-school teacher told Milstein toward the end of his first interview, in May 2020.

Search resuls for: "Covid —"

25 mentions found